Nonmetallic Mineral Products

Employees: 841

Businesses: 48

2006 employee wages: $27.1 million

Example companies: Glenstone Block Co., Ozarks Cultured Marble, Conco Cos.

David Harrison, president of Glenstone Block Co., said the rising cost of fuel plays havoc with pricing issues.

“Virtually all materials that we use – cement, lightweight and heavyweight aggregate – everything we use comes in by truck, and all the truckers are responding to the fuel crunch by adding fuel surcharges,” Harrison said. “Those surcharges add unpredictability to the costs of manufacturing. You can’t ever be sure how to cost your product.”

Southwest Missouri combats the unstable outside costs, he said, through a steady economy.

“I don’t think we fluctuate as much as other areas that are governed by technology or other sectors where things change so rapidly,” he said. “The economy here tends to be fairly stable – when the rest of the country is going up and down rather sharply, this area tends to be not as low in the lows or as high in the highs.”